


Positing Scenarios

by thewhiterose3



Series: Data Points [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-03
Updated: 2012-07-03
Packaged: 2017-11-09 02:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewhiterose3/pseuds/thewhiterose3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And so Tony does the only thing he knows how. The one thing he knows he can do right. He puts even more of his life into the hands of the one being that will never leave him, gives himself over even more freely to JARVIS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Positing Scenarios

After the palladium and the blood poisoning and the self destruction notched up to near accidental homicide and well, everything after that and before and just, Tony knows, okay. He knows that he's got to change. That his behavior cannot be allowed to get that bad again. That when he gets that low and desperate, his own instincts cannot be trusted. And lets be honest here, he's going to get low again. There are only so many "Ironman- yes, Tony Stark- no," only so many memories of his father's eyes skittering over him, never holding, never noticing, never good enough before he reaches for a drink or three or fifteen. It’s inevitable. It is. But that destruction, that bringing others down with him. That shit cannot happen, again. Yinsen gave him his miserable life back, gave his life for him, and he is not going to fucking betray him by using it to accidentally kill a room full of people while he plays with advanced weaponry in a drunken haze. 

If he is certain of nothing else, he knows that he cannot trust himself. And the only two people in the world that he trusts, the only people who might stand a chance of putting him in his place, are simply not around all that much. (And it’s not like it worked all that well this last time.) Pepper and Rhodey. Rhodey is often deployed to locations unknown and just, sometimes Tony wonders how much he would see Rhodey if it wasn't his job to liaise with him, to placate him. Fuck, that sounds horrible. And Pepper's halfway around the world most of the time as well, running his company, taking up his slack. God, Pepper, how the hell she can just stand there by this side, after this, after everything. He has no idea, no fucking clue what he's done to deserve her. Except he knows he hasn't. He knows that he isn't even in the vicinity of worthy of her loyalty and friendship, not to mention her love, but he wants to be. He wants to be that man that can make her proud to stand by his side. 

And so Tony does the only thing he knows how. The one thing he knows he can do right. He puts even more of his life into the hands of the one being that will never leave him, gives himself over even more freely to JARVIS. And so with Pepper out of the country for a week, Tony settles himself into his workshop. This is nothing new, but this time he doesn't start a project, doesn't run a diagnostic on the suit. Instead he settles himself on the floor in the corner, tablet in his lap, and addresses the being that knows him better than any other. 

"Hey JARVIS, buddy, we're going to make some changes."

"Anything, sir." is the immediate reply and Tony can tell from the tone, from the lack or sarcasm and cynicism that Tony usually adores, that JARVIS has picked up that this is important. And that gives him hope, tells him that this might just work. And so Tony spends the rest of that day and the next and the next positing scenarios and appropriate responses, changing overrides and taking away the few limitations that still existed for the AI. And by the end of it, JARVIS had the power to disobey, to stop the suit from engaging, to halt dangerous tools and experiments in the workshop, to lock Tony out of the workshop based on BAC and lack of sleep. JARVIS now had the power to save Tony from hurting other people and upon JARVIS' own insistence, the power to lessen the damage Tony does to himself. And then, just as they were winding down, Tony's frantic determination ebbing, JARVIS interrupts with a request of his own.

"Sir, one more data point, please."

"Yeah, buddy?," Tony yawns. 

"This cannot happen, again." And Tony has a moment of confusion, has he pushed the AI too far? Is this too much to ask of an entity that started out with the same base programming as Dummy? But then every screen, tablet, piece of smart glass, and projectable surface in the room lights up with flashing images of Obadiah, the video of a kidnapped Tony residing on the SI server the whole goddamn time, of Tony frozen and fearful, a hand reaching into his chest.

Just as Tony is about to call an end to this horrific trip down memory lane, all of the surfaces instantly return to their previous state.

“Not again, sir.” And Tony had no goddamn idea that even JARVIS could sound all of distraught and determined and seriously fucking desperate at the same time. And that’s how JARVIS begins assessing every item on the SI server, private or otherwise, for serious threats against Tony or Pepper. That’s how the AI hacks every lock and elevator and security system in Tony’s general vicinity at all times. That’s how JARVIS becomes Tony’s best friend and closest confidant and protector all in one.

And it never occurrs to Tony that he could have more than this. He has so much more than he deserves, already. He has Pepper and he has JARVIS and more rarely than he’d like, he has Rhodey. And Tony tries not to think about how everyone who spends more than an hour in his presence is either created to or being paid to do so.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be, blah blah woof woof.
> 
> So, I know this has been done before, but the fact that literally everyone that Tony interacts with is either his creation or is paid to be in his presence just will not leave me alone. And really, I'm a sucker for broken on the inside Tony. So yeah, there might be more of this eventually, maybe. Possibly. 
> 
> Let me know what you think and thanks for reading.
> 
> Completely unbeta'd. Apologies for any and all mistakes.


End file.
